The gas igniter on the market today can be categorized into two different types. One is the disposable type which has the advantage of convenient to get and use but after the fuel source is finished, the whole unit has to be thrown away including all the working parts due to the discontinue fuel supply. In the economic view point, that is a disadvantage to the consumer who throw away all the usable parts which they already paid for, and it is less environmental friendly since most of the parts are still in working condition and can be reuse. This type of disposable gas igniter is well known to the consumer today and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,507.
Another one of the gas igniter is the reliable type that the fuel can be refilled from an outside source. This type of refillable gas igniter is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,983 and U.S. Pat. 5,369,556 that a gas igniter constructed with an opening allow access to a container for fuel refilling. It has the advantage of reusing the working unit again when the fuel is finished, but for the consumer to get the fuel supply for refilling which commonly known as the bottle gas, the price is expensive when compare to a disposable lighter and not many stores carry the bottle gas. Thus it makes it harder to find the fuel source for refill and it became inconvenient to consumer, hence it is a disadvantage to the consumers. Moreover, the engineering construction of the housing in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,983 and U.S. Pat. 5,369,556 do not provide a means of easy access for alternative gas supply other than using bottle gas for refill.
It would be ideal to provide a gas igniter which is gas refillable and the gas refill source is easy to get and inexpensive in cost. Commercially available disposable lighter is carry by almost every convenient stores, gas stations, supermarkets as well is drug stores and it is very inexpensive. Therefore, by using a disposable lighter as the refill fuel source for the gas igniter, the objective mentioned above is accomplished.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,520, a Palm-top gas torch using a disposable gas lighter for refilling is disclosed. However, this particular type of Palm-top gas torch is not constructed for igniting purpose since the torch unit is design to fit into the user""s hand wherein the hand will be too closed to the object in particular when it is used to light material that is highly combustible. Therefore, it is not favorable and not suitable from a safety viewpoint to use this particular type of gas torch for igniting purpose.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a gas igniter for which the consumer do not throw the whole unit away including all the working parts as like the disposable gas igniter, and as well not like the conventional refillable type gas igniter using the bottle gas which is hard to find and expensive in cost; that can benefit with the convenience of easy to find and inexpensive in cost for the refill fuel supply by using a commercially available disposable gas lighter . With present invention, thus both the advantage of disposable inter and the conventional refillable igniter can be obtained.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide an orthopedically engineered trigger-controlled igniter that is comfortable and convenient to use. And the present invention further provides an inexpensive as well as easy access of fuel supply for refill by using a commercially available disposable gas lighter The present invention is as well a favorable to the environment that the majority parts of the unit can be reuse again without throwing away all the usable parts, hence it can cut down the waste to the Dual when compared to the conventional disposable gas igniter.
According to one aspect of the present invention the gas igniter comprising a casing detachably connected to the container which hold a disposable lighter as a gas reservoir, a primary safety switch which disposed within the sliding track with locking and unlocking position, a secondary safety switch formed by a push-button and rocking lever, and a trigger are disposed for controlling gas supply from the reservoir, a rubber gas flow connection and a piezo electric unit are incorporated into the casing portion assembly, a hollow flexible member extends from the casing with one end and the opposite end connected to a front pipe, which mounted with flame nozzle that connected with gas pipe and ground electrode.
In order to actuate the igniter, first, slide the primary safety switch to unlock position, then push the push-button of the secondary safety switch upward to move the rocking lever to unlock the trigger, and then pull down the trigger, the trigger controlled to depress the gas lever of the disposable gas lighter and the piezo electric unit simultaneously causing a flame produced at the flame nozzle that shoot out from the flame port of the front pipe, when the user released the trigger after each use. the trigger will recess back to locking position automatically by the piezo electric unit which construct with a build-in spring ,the gas supply is cut off when the gas lever of the disposable lighter is released from the trigger.
Another aspect of the present invention, three elastic members are disposed or the curved side of the igniter provided a comfortable soft grip for the user.
Still another aspect of the invention, the flexible member with a stud which construct on the front pipe can snap into the hole of the elastic member on the casing for easy storage.